The prayer they are hearing is the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and it has been part of Catholic devotional life since the 1930s. St. Michael Catholic Radio broadcasts it on 94.9 FM Tulsa each weekday afternoon, and it is available to stream anytime online for those who want to follow along from anywhere.
What the Divine Mercy Chaplet Is
A Distinct Catholic Prayer
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a form of Catholic prayer that focuses on God’s mercy and the Passion of Jesus Christ. It is prayed on a standard set of rosary beads, which is one reason it is sometimes confused with the Rosary itself. But the two are entirely different prayers. The Rosary meditates on the mysteries of Christ’s life through the Hail Mary. The Chaplet uses its own prayers, which are shorter, and its focus is specifically on mercy and the suffering of Christ.
The Chaplet takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to pray, which makes it well suited to the 3 PM broadcast on St. Michael Radio. A listener who happens to be in the car at that hour, or who is at home or at a desk, can follow along from beginning to end without the program stretching past the quarter-hour mark.
How the Chaplet Is Prayed
The Chaplet begins with an opening that includes the Our Father, a Hail Mary, and the Apostles’ Creed, the same brief opening used in the Rosary. From there, the prayers change. On each of the large beads, the prayer is: “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.” On each of the ten small beads, the prayer is: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
This pattern repeats five times. At the close, a concluding prayer is said three times: “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” The entire Chaplet moves through these prayers in a rhythm that is simple enough for a first-time listener to follow along after a few minutes of hearing it.
On the Beads: A person does not need a special set of beads to pray the Chaplet. Standard rosary beads work. The physical structure is the same. Only the prayers are different.
Where the Chaplet Came From
St. Faustina Kowalska
The Divine Mercy Chaplet traces its origin to a Polish nun named Faustina Kowalska, who lived from 1905 to 1938. During the 1930s, she recorded a series of visions and interior messages in her diary, which is known as Divine Mercy in My Soul. These writings describe what she understood as communications from Jesus Christ, which included the prayers of the Chaplet and an emphasis on God’s mercy toward all people.
Her diary was initially met with some caution from Church authorities, which was not unusual for private revelations at the time. Over the following decades, the Divine Mercy devotion spread widely, and St. Faustina’s writings were eventually approved and promoted. Pope John Paul II, himself Polish, canonized her in 2000, and she became the first saint of the new millennium. He also established the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday for the universal Church.
Why the Devotion Spread
The message at the center of the Divine Mercy devotion is not complicated. It is that God’s mercy is greater than human sin, and that approaching God with trust and humility is always possible. That message proved to have wide resonance, particularly in the years following the devastation of World War II in Europe. The Chaplet spread through Catholic communities in Poland and eventually far beyond.
Today the Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed in Catholic parishes, homes, hospitals, and on Catholic radio stations across the country. Its presence at 3 PM each weekday on St. Michael Radio is part of that wider tradition.
Why Catholics Pray at 3 PM
The Hour of Mercy
The choice of 3 PM is not incidental. In St. Faustina’s writings, Jesus describes 3 PM as the Hour of Mercy, the hour at which he died on the cross. In the Gospel accounts, his death is recorded at the ninth hour, which by ancient Jewish reckoning corresponds to 3 PM. Catholics who observe this hour understand it as a moment set apart for reflection on Christ’s Passion and for turning to God’s mercy in a particular way.
The invitation associated with this hour is simple: to pause at 3 PM, even briefly, and to pray. The Chaplet is a natural form for that pause. Its length matches the hour without overwhelming it, and its prayers are focused entirely on the themes that give the hour its character: mercy, the Passion, and trust.
A Moment in the Middle of the Day
For regular listeners to St. Michael Radio, the 3 PM Chaplet becomes a familiar point in the broadcast day. It sits between The Doctor Is In with Dr. Ray Guarendi at noon and Catholic Answers Live at 5 PM. The full weekday schedule is available at stmichaelsradio.com/programs for anyone who wants to plan listening around the rest of the day’s programming.
Some listeners tune in specifically for the Chaplet each afternoon. Others come across it while the radio is already on. Both are common. What many describe is a sense of the day being marked by something steady and unhurried in an afternoon that often is neither.
Hearing It on St. Michael Radio
3 PM on 94.9 FM Tulsa
The Divine Mercy Chaplet airs every weekday at 3:00 PM on Catholic radio on 94.9 FM Tulsa. For listeners in the Tulsa metro, that is the simplest way to follow along. The FM signal reaches across the area consistently, so whether a listener is at home, in the car, or at a desk in the early afternoon, the broadcast is there.
For those outside the FM range, or who want the flexibility to listen at a different time, the live stream at stmichaelsradio.com/listen carries the same programming on the same schedule. The stream runs from a phone, tablet, or computer without any setup required.
For Those Hearing It for the First Time
First-time listeners sometimes find the Chaplet easier to follow than they expect. The repetition of the prayers gives it a rhythm that becomes familiar quickly. The language is direct and the pace is unhurried. Following along does not require a prayer book or any preparation. A listener who hears it once has most of what they need to follow along the next time.
St. Michael Catholic Radio carries the Chaplet as part of a daily schedule that runs from the morning Rosary through Bible in a Year in the evening. For anyone who has been curious about what the 3 PM prayer is and where it comes from, this is the place to hear it live every weekday afternoon.
Program schedule sourced from stmichaelsradio.com/programs (captured June 2026). Devotional and historical information drawn from the writings of St. Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul (Marian Press), and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
12 Flashcard Q&As
Q1: What is the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
A: A Catholic prayer received by St. Faustina Kowalska in Poland in the 1930s. It is prayed on standard rosary beads but uses its own prayers, focused on God’s mercy and the Passion of Jesus Christ.
Q2: How is the Chaplet different from the Rosary?
A: Both are prayed on the same set of beads, but the prayers are entirely different. The Rosary meditates on the mysteries of Christ’s life through the Hail Mary. The Chaplet uses two main prayers focused on mercy and the Passion, and is somewhat shorter.
Q3: When does the Divine Mercy Chaplet air on St. Michael Catholic Radio?
A: Every weekday at 3:00 PM on 94.9 FM Tulsa. It is also available to stream at any time at stmichaelsradio.com/listen.
Q4: Why is 3 PM called the Hour of Mercy?
A: In the writings of St. Faustina, Jesus describes 3 PM as the hour of His death on the cross. Catholics associate this hour with special reflection on Christ’s Passion and with prayer for God’s mercy.
Q5: Who was St. Faustina Kowalska?
A: A Polish nun who lived from 1905 to 1938. She received the Divine Mercy message and the prayers of the Chaplet through visions she recorded in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000.
Q6: What beads are used to pray the Chaplet?
A: Standard rosary beads. The Chaplet uses the same physical beads as the Rosary but with completely different prayers.
Q7: What are the two main prayers of the Chaplet?
A: On the large beads: “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.” On the small beads: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Q8: How long does it take to pray the Chaplet?
A: Approximately 15 to 20 minutes, which fits naturally into the 3 PM broadcast on St. Michael Radio.
Q9: When and where did the Divine Mercy Chaplet originate?
A: In Poland in the 1930s, through the visions and writings of St. Faustina Kowalska, whose diary records the prayers in detail.
Q10: Is the Chaplet difficult for a first-time listener to follow?
A: No. The prayers repeat throughout the Chaplet in a simple pattern. Most listeners can follow along after a few minutes of hearing it, even without a prayer book or prior familiarity.
Q11: What other programs air near the 3 PM Chaplet on St. Michael Radio?
A: The weekday schedule includes The Doctor Is In with Dr. Ray Guarendi at noon, the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 PM, and Catholic Answers Live at 5 PM. The full schedule is at stmichaelsradio.com/programs.
Q12: Where can I find St. Faustina’s diary?
A: Divine Mercy in My Soul is published by Marian Press, which holds the official English translation. It is widely available through Catholic bookstores and online retailers.
